Vice President JD Vance branded his political opponents as the “fart left” before quickly backpedalling at a rally.
Speaking in Greensboro, North Carolina, Vance was campaigning for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley, who has trailed his Democratic opponent in the polls ahead of the midterm elections.
Both Vance and President Trump have thrown their weight behind Republican campaigns in the state.
“And because we need somebody who will actually fight back against the ‘fart left,’ we need Michael Whatley in the United States Senate,” Vance said on Monday to applause.
Then, the crowd began to chant “Michael” as Vance continued to look around the room.
“Now, you may not have even heard that, but I actually - I usually don’t misspeak - but I just called them the ‘fart left,’ not the ‘far left,’” Vance continued.
The vice president’s remark drew some laughs from the crowd, with Vance going on to preemptively dismiss any suggestion he deliberately used the term.
“I promise that was an accident,” he said. “So to the fake news, who will accuse me of bad language, I promise I did not mean to call them the ‘fart left.’ I meant to call them the ‘far left.’”
Vance’s “fart left” comment in Greensboro came as he sought to rally support for Whatley amid a tense race with former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.
According to a poll conducted by Elon University, Cooper has an 11 percent lead over his opponent. The poll involved 800 adults and was conducted between August 21 and August 31.
Vance was quickly mocked online for the ”fart left” remark, with Democratic Representative Jim McGovern writing on X: “JD Vance has the charisma of a trash can.”
Author and podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen similarly took a swipe at Vance.
“The charisma of a paper bag,” he wrote on X, in response to Vance’s remarks.
Tommy Vietor, co-host of Pod Save America, also blasted Vance for the verbal slip-up.
“This joke would kill at middle school,” he quipped.
Vance has often tried to go off script during his speeches, with the vice president offering to buy a plane ticket for a protester waving a Mexican flag at a rally earlier in September.
“What the people at home missed is that we just had a protester interrupting us and waving the Mexican flag,” Vance said. “Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your a** over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket.”
In February, he took a swipe at Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had paused before answering a question about Taiwan while speaking at the Munich Security Conference.
“Now, I’m tempted, sir, just to freeze for 20 seconds and just stare at the cameras, and maybe they’ll say nice things about me like they do about Congresswoman Cortez,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez responded: “The only thing longer than my pause to think was their silence to his joke.”
